Even though the Mulberry Panthers have not done well against the Bartow Yellow Jackets recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Mulberry walked away with a 55-42 win over Bartow. This was payback for Mulberry, who suffered a 41-21 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Lorianys Castanon Cruz was her usual excellent self, scoring 40 points along with nine steals. That makes it nine consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Mulberry's points. Alana Standifer was another key contributor, scoring six points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Despite the loss, Bartow saw an underclassman step up: Jj West scored 28 points along with five rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points West has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Dackjerlin Senior, who scored seven points along with five rebounds.
Mulberry has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Bartow, their loss was their eighth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 3-13.
Mulberry will take on Hardee at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Hardee comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 22 points in their last four games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse. Bartow won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Lake Region at 7:00 p.m. on January 17th.
